This award is presented to a campaign that has, over time and using a variety of media, had a powerful impact on Canadian advertising, and Canadian culture. It’s awarded to the marketer and their agency team whose partnership produced a campaign that is truly “game changing.” The wave of patriotism in Canadian young people incited by “I am Canadian” was unprecedented. That a Canadian beer should inspire such intense nationalism also seems uniquely Canadian.

First introduced in 1994, it became a form of general expression and years later “The Rant” debuted in 1999. It came with a new integrated campaign featuring “Joe Canada” and saw over 40,000 digital parodies posted online at iam.ca by consumers voicing their passion for beer and pride for the best part of North America.

“I am Canadian” was a large part of the reason why I wanted to start my career at Molson Coors. It has become an iconic beacon of Canadianism and one of the most historic marketing campaigns in Canada. It still gets me every time I watch those commercials.